★2000年第三期

[1]Li: I know that a few weeks ago you held an exhibition on lifelong¹ learning. Well, we mentioned in our English Salon September issue that G-8 Summit² in Cologne³ issued a Charter⁴ on Lifelong Learning. Would you like to say a few words about the importance of lifelong learning?

Counselor: Yes, well, lifelong learning is a very important concept⁵. It is not a new concept in China, I think. China has been working in the area of lifelong learning for a number of years as we have in Britain. The idea of lifelong learning is that people do not just learn at school and then at university, but that to be really productive⁶ members of society.People have to continue their learning throughout their whole life. A recent study in Britain and United States showed that what people called the half-life of learning is five years. In other words, everything you learn now only half of it will be relevant in five years' time, which means you have to constantly renew your knowledge, renew your understanding in order to be able to keep your skills up to the needs of the developing world, the developing society. The whole purpose of lifelong learning is to fit people for work, for leisure⁷, for their personal development, and their personal satisfaction. That's a very important aim, I think. In Britain as in China, we have been through a very difficult process of changing our society. As you know we have had a very high unemployment, we've had a very difficult change in the nature of our industry and economy. We are now through that very successfully. Our unemployment is very low. That's by and large⁸ because we constantly train and retrain the workers so that they are able to be productive. The worst possible thing for somebody is no longer to be needed. If their skills are out of date⁹, their opportunities to get work will be much lower. If they do get work, then it's going to be more poorly paid. So for us, the whole thing about lifelong learning is that individuals¹⁰ should be able to constantly renew their skills in order to remain productive and to enjoy their lives. Lifelong learning doesn't stop.